How it works
When a STAK holds the shares of a company, the people who put in the money hold certificates. A certificate mirrors a share: the dividend the share earns goes to the certificate holder, and so does the price when the company is sold. The vote at the shareholder meeting stays with the STAK.
The company can cooperate in issuing the certificates. With that cooperation the holder has meeting rights: an invitation to the shareholder meeting and the right to speak. Certificates issued on the STAK’s own initiative give the holder the economic rights only.
The administration conditions of the STAK describe how certificates are transferred, what happens when a holder leaves and how the STAK board is appointed. For employee participation the conditions usually say that a leaver offers the certificates back at a set price.
For income tax, a certificate holder with 5% or more of the certificates has a substantial interest and pays box 2 on dividend and gains, like a shareholder. A holding company can hold certificates too and use the participation exemption.
Example
A sales director holds certificates for 4% of the company through the STAK. The company pays €500,000 dividend; she receives €20,000. When she leaves, the conditions require her to offer the certificates to the STAK at the value set by the accountant.
The figures
All 2026 figures: Netherlands tax rates 2026 · the 2027 figures: Netherlands tax rates 2027.
Questions people ask
Are certificates the same as shares?
They give the holder the economic rights of the shares and, with cooperation of the company, meeting rights. The vote stays with the STAK board. That difference is the reason to use them.
Can a foreign investor hold certificates?
Yes. The STAK records the holder; the holder’s own country taxes the dividend under its rules and the treaty. Dutch dividend tax is withheld at the treaty rate.
Holdwise, Hoofddorp. Definition and explanation maintained with the Dutch and German glossaries; figures from the central rates source, year 2026. Updated 16 September 2026.
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